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22 July 2010 Kosovo
The International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion that Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008 had not breached international law, UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (of June 1999), or the constitutional framework adopted by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on behalf of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo. The decision, which was non-binding, had been requested by the UN General Assembly. Serbia, whose case was that the declaration of independence was not legal, reaffirmed its intention to continue to withhold recognition of the independence of Kosovo.
11 July 2010 Japan
At elections for 121 of the 242 seats in the House of Councillors the governing coalition, led by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), lost its majority in the upper chamber. The DPJ’s total representation in the chamber was reduced to 106 seats, while the number of seats commanded by the opposition Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP) rose to 84. The Minister of Justice, Keiko Chiba, lost her seat, although she was expected to retain her cabinet post until September. The level of participation by voters was 57.9%. Your Party, established in 2009 by Yoshimi Watanabe, a former member of the LDP and cabinet minister, emerged as a significant force, increasing its representation to 11 seats in the House of Councillors.
8 July 2010 Burundi
The Constitutional Court confirmed the official results of the presidential election held on 28 June, according to which the incumbent, Jean-Pierre Nkurunziza, received 91.6% of the valid votes cast. The rate of participation by voters was estimated at 77.0% of the registered electorate. Nkurunziza had contested the election as the sole candidate, after the political opposition boycotted the poll in protest against the alleged manipulation, on the part of the governing Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie—Forces de défense de la démocratie, of the results of communal elections held in late May.
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4 July 2010 Poland
Bronisław Komorowski, of Civic Platform, was elected President at a second round of national voting, in which he secured 53.0% of the votes cast. The run-off was contested by Komorowski and the representative of the Law and Justice party, Jarosław Kaczyński, the death of whose twin brother, Lech Kaczyński, in an air crash in April, had occasioned the election. At the first round, conducted on 20 June, Komorowski had won 41.5% of votes cast, and Jarosław Kaczyński 36.5%.
30 June 2010 Philippines
Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III was sworn in as President, in succession to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. According to official results of the election of 10 May, Aquino, son of former President Corazon Aquino and the candidate of the Liberal Party, won 41.9% of the valid votes cast, while his nearest rival, former President Joseph Estrada, took 26.1%. The concurrent vice-presidential election was narrowly won by Jejomar Binay, leader of the PDP-Laban Party. In his inauguration speech the new President emphasized anti-corruption measures, infrastructure development and the education system as priorities for his administration. On 29 June Aquino had announced his first Cabinet; this was to be composed principally of members of the Liberal Party and technocrats, although Alberto G. Romulo, who had served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the outgoing Government, retained his post.
24 June 2010 Australia
Following an unexpected challenge to his leadership by senior members of the governing Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was removed from office and replaced by Julia Gillard, hitherto the Deputy Prime Minister. Amid tensions arising from the direction of the Government in advance of the forthcoming general election, Rudd’s rapid loss of support within the party in recent months was attributed partly to his failure to secure the Senate’s approval of legislation to establish a carbon trading scheme and his subsequent decision to suspend the plan. (The need to address the issue of climate change had been a key element of the ousted Prime Minister’s legislative programme.) Rudd’s announcement of a proposal to impose a 40% levy on the ‘super profits’ of mining companies had also drawn considerable criticism from his opponents. Gillard—Australia’s first female Prime Minister—was succeeded as Deputy Prime Minister by Wayne Swan, who retained his existing cabinet portfolio as Treasurer.
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